Two arrested over Cavan murder

Two men remain in custody in Cavan Garda station after they were arrested following the murder of a Romanian man over the weekend.

Gardaí are liaising with Romanian police authorities and Interpol as part of the ongoing investigation into the death of Costel Cretu, who was in his 40s.

He died after a number of uninvited men barged their way into an apartment at Connolly Court, Connolly Street, Cavan, in what sources described as a “house invasion”, and stabbed him to death.

Supt James Coen said the two men, who are in their 30s, were arrested in the environs of Cavan town at 6pm yesterday and remain in detention at Cavan Garda station today. Both are being held under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

“There is provision for them to be detained for a further 12 hours but that depends on the progress of the investigation,” said Supt Coen.

The man’s partner, a Romanian national, was with him and is believed to have witnessed the killing. He is said to have arrived in Ireland as recently as last Thursday.

Garda sources said it appeared a number of men, also believed to be from Romania, arrived at the couple’s apartment uninvited on Saturday night.

When they were not initially allowed into the property they barged in against the will of the couple and appear to have then taken control of the apartment.

During that confrontation, gardaí believe one of the uninvited visitors stabbed the victim. His injuries proved fatal and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Irish Times understands gardaí in Cavan had raided properties in the area in recent weeks on suspicion they were linked to prostitution. Gardaí are trying to establish whether those who attacked Mr Cretu are suspects in that prostitution investigation in the town. The dead man was not known for any involvement in crime.

The men who invaded the property had fled when local gardaí arrived on the scene after the alarm had been raised on Saturday night.

The apartment in which the murder took place was sealed off yesterday and underwent examination by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.

Gardaí are appealing to witnesses who may have been in the Connolly Street area between the Egg Market and the junction near College Street between 11pm on Saturday night and 12.30am on Sunday morning to make contact.

“There are a number of takeaways and pubs in the area, and if taxi drivers or anyone in the area seen anything that night, please get in contact with gardaí. They may not believe their information is relevant to the inquiries but they may have seen something that would be of help to gardaí,” said Supt Coen.

Gardaí in Cavan would not confirm whether the apartment where the man was murdered was being run as a brothel.

“We are aware of information in the public domain and it does form part of the overall investigation and any other matters that come to our attention but it is principally a murder investigation we are dealing with,” said Supt Coen.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Cavan Garda station on (049) 43 68800 or the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666 111.